Survived First Day of Hospital Volunteering

Thanks for all the encouragement in the comments - I made it through my first morning of visiting patients at the local hospital. I thought it went quite well, although I was exhausted near the end of the three hours. This may be because smiling non-stop or giving enthusiastic or empathetic facial expressions constantly for that length of time is tiring. It may be because of the intense listening and looking into people's eyes and giving them my full attention, and introducing myself so many times, not knowing whether the patients wanted company or not. Or it may be more as a result of going to bed after 1am last night. Oops. Not the best preparation. However, I had to get plans firmed up for our little trip to the Alps this weekend - Memorial Day Weekend in the U.S. happens to be a holiday here in the U.K. as well (just called Late May Bank Holiday, not for any particular reason).

Husband is calling me to bed - I always like to answer that call, and especially tonight given last night's anomaly. Off I go!